Informal meeting of health ministers Omicron: public health measures, 4th vaccine dose, prospects for medium-term management of the covid-19 crisis

This Friday, 21 January 2022, the European health ministers had a special meeting via video conference to share best practices in managing the crisis and to align national strategies to the greatest extent possible.

They agreed to strengthen coordination of national strategies by sharing information on the roll-out of national vaccination campaigns and to fully mobilise the instruments put in place by the Union. They also reaffirmed the principal of international vaccine solidarity at international level.

The intensity of the successive wave of Omicron variant cases is a reminder that the public health crisis is unpredictable and requires constant attention. The public health crisis continues to have a significant impact on economic and social life in the EU Member States and calls for us to continually re-evaluate how we manage this crisis.

The public health situation requires, now more than ever, a coordinated response from the Member States. The Member States recognise the importance of a coordinated approach to guarantee the best possible protection for EU citizens in the long term, beyond simply reacting to this outbreak.

They therefore identified several focal points:

· Stepping up vaccination to increase primary vaccination coverage (one or two doses) and increasing booster shots;

·Continuing to share information between countries regarding key data on the effective roll-out of the booster campaign in the case of possible administration of a 4th dose: period between booster shots, target population groups, pharmacovigilance data, heterologous vaccination courses, impact on serious cases and hospitalisations, etc.

· Mobilising all of the instruments put in place by the European Union, such as the European policy for joint procurement of COVID-19 vaccines and medical countermeasures; based on the latest information and data available.

· Strengthening the global solidarity of the EU to guarantee access to vaccines and treatments against COVID-19.

· Continuing to strongly support countries with insufficient access to vaccines, whether through donations or by scaling up production. The available resources must allow for 4th doses to be administered without undermining the European vaccine solidarity policy.